Exports keeping N.C. tobacco crop growing

Sunday

May 11, 2014 at 6:00 AM

It is estimated that China has 350 million smokers, more than the total U.S. population.

By Molly ParkerMolly.Parker@StarNewsOnline.com

It is estimated that China has 350 million smokers, more than the total U.S. population. And as it turns out, the growing middle class in that country prefers the hard-to-beat flavor and aroma of the U.S.-grown leaf.That's good news for the North Carolina tobacco farmer, with this state responsible for nearly 80 percent of the country's production of flue-cured tobacco."The Chinese smoker wants a higher quality cigarette," said Richard Reich, assistant commissioner at the N.C. Department of Agriculture. "Worldwide, the Southeast Asia market is a great opportunity for us for expansion of our international market," added W.K. Collins, senior director of development at the N.C. Tobacco Foundation, Inc., associated with N.C. State University. This year marks a decade since the signing of a 2004 federal law that ended Depression-era tobacco quotas and the final payouts for the Tobacco Transition Payment Program, commonly referred to as the tobacco buyout. But since that time, North Carolina has actually expanded its tobacco production – largely buoyed by exports to some 50 countries. North Carolina exported $766 million in tobacco in 2012. The state's farmers harvested 181,900 acres of tobacco in 2013, up 10 percent from the previous year. Estimates from the Agriculture department show that number could increase to more than 182,000 acres for the 2014 growing season.Most of North Carolina's tobacco is exported rather than used domestically."There have always been strong leaf exports, but since the buyout the production of North Carolina's tobacco, our total production, has increased," Reich said. "So, despite declining domestic markets, there's been an expansion of worldwide demand for high-quality tobacco."

Still an economic mainstay Despite growing public health concerns and declining use domestically, tobacco remains an important cash crop and vital component of the state economy – especially in rural areas where other economic opportunities are often few and far between.The flue-cured tobacco that is so sought after worldwide was the innovation of a slave named Stephen who worked on the farm of Captain Abisha Slade, according to a PBS article titled "North Carolina & Tobacco: Historical Background." "While curing a batch of tobacco in a smoky barn, he let the wood fire go out, and quickly restarted it with charcoal," the article reads. "The intense heat cured the tobacco quickly, turning it a vivid yellow. When this "brightleaf" (or flue-cured) tobacco was sold, it proved appealing to smokers, and within a decade, flue-cured tobacco became one of the most common varieties in production." While the industry has evolved over the years it remains a mainstay of North Carolina farming.The tobacco buyout was born out of the Great Depression. The 1938-instituted quota system regulated how much tobacco each farm could produce while providing government-sponsored financial supports. The industry boomed again at the onset of World War II, with soldiers given a steady supply of cigarettes. This continued through the 1960s when a new era ushered in public health concerns about smoking, the PBS article continued. The buyout that runs out this year represents complete deregulation of the control of the system. But despite that – and despite the U.S. Surgeon General's warning about the harmful effects of cigarettes – tobacco remains big business in this state."Within the last 10 years, North Carolina's share of U.S. production has actually increased," Reich said. "We're growing more of the total U.S. production." "We've taken production from other states and I guess you could say in one way, we are more competitive than other states for whatever reason," Collins said. Reich attributed the success to "strong leadership for the tobacco growing community" and specifically credited N.C. State for its leadership in tobacco research."I think we have good farmers, we have good technical support, we have good leadership, and we have opportunities to sell those products in more than 50 counties in the world," Reich said.

Research remains keyA critical part of that technical support takes place just outside Whiteville at the Border Belt Tobacco Research Station under the direction of operations manager Lloyd Ransom. The research undertaken at the Columbus County station and others like it in the state ends up in a tobacco manual that translates into best practices in the field."This is where it starts," Ransom said. "It's a process for a new variety to get to where it's available to the growers of about four to five years from the stage of test plots … It gives farmers a general idea of which variety they want to plant." These stations were once the subject of budget cuts, but Ransom said the research is critical to a rich tobacco industry in the state. The Border Belt Tobacco Research Station was established in 1949. In 1956 it moved to its current location. The research facility is on 102 acres, with some 58 acres allotted to crop research and protection. As the state's land grant university, N.C. State also plays a major role in tobacco research and management of the research stations. Blake Brown, a professor and extension economist at the university, said there are three major segments to the tobacco economy: farming, manufacturing and global leaf purchasing with centers in Asheville and Morrisville. While it's not as big an enterprise as hog and poultry farming, tobacco production is a huge part of the state's agricultural fabric, he said. And since the end of the federal tobacco program, he said, the crop has become increasingly important – particularly in eastern North Carolina counties along the Interstate 95 corridor such as Wilson, Nash, Johnston, Sampson and Duplin counties. That's in part because the tobacco program prevented farms from crossing county lines, and deregulation led to increased consolidation. This coupled with advances in mechanization and how labor is utilized has led to fewer but larger farms.What's clear, Brown said, is that tobacco has deep roots in the state that aren't likely to be plucked any time soon. "Tobacco is about a $700 million-a-year crop in North Carolina," Brown said. "It's still the largest cash crop in the state."